Album Review: My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook

Album Review: My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook

The first time that I listened to Matt Dusk’s new album “My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook,” I was being domestic, cleaning my room and putting away laundry. Normally, this sort of work bores me out of my mind, and I like to have something going on to keep me entertained.

Within just a few minutes of playing the album, I found myself swaying back and forth while hanging clothes and humming along with the familiar tunes.

Chet Baker’s time was before I was born. He was popular first in the 1950s and his career spanned all the way to the 1980s, when I was a little baby. However, his music is iconic and I recognized several songs off Dusk’s cover album.

Dusk does an excellent job of introducing Baker’s music to a new generation. The handsome Canadian singer’s voice and style reminds me of Harry Connick, Jr. It’s the kind of soft, jazzy music that I would play while having a romantic dinner with my husband, while sipping tea by the fire on a chilly winter night, or while just trying to relax away the stress of the day. I can definitely see myself listening to this album often on my iPod while I try to escape for a little “me” time.

Discovering new music is always fun, but Dusk’s album reminds me that sometimes we can also enjoy re-discovering the classics. The cozy album is a remake of music that you don’t often hear on popular music radio stations, but that doesn’t mean that it should get left behind.

Dusk’s album, “My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook” is set to be released February 12, 2013, just in time to make the perfect Valentine’s gift for your special someone.